1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to nutritional assessment, and in particular to a method of nutritional assessment by measuring Complex I, II, and III activity, as well as use of these compounds for nutritional assessment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known in the prior art that lack of or excess intake of nutrients results in a change in the amount of body fat, lean tissue1 and plasma proteins Accordingly, prior art methods of nutritional assessment have been based on changes in both body composition and plasma proteins. However, these prior art methods are not able to differentiate whether the loss of body fat and leant tissue results from lack of intake of nutrients, or from some other cause not related to nutrition, such as disease.
Accordingly, there is a need for a nutritional assessment which is capable not only of determining malnutrition, but also whether the cause of the malnutrition is a lack of intake of nutrients.
It is an object of the invention to provide a method of nutritional assessment which is capable of determining malnutrition, and whether malnutrition is caused by lack of nutrient intake.
According to a first aspect of the invention, a method of detecting malnutrition in a mammal is provided. The method comprises the steps of:
(a) measuring the activity in the mammal of one or more complexes selected from the group consisting of Complex I, Complex II, and Complex III; and
(b) determining if the level of activity is below the level of activity of the complexes in a normal control sample.
According to a second aspect of the invention, the use of Complex I is disclosed for nutritional assessment of a mammal.
According to a third aspect of the invention, the use of Complex II is disclosed for nutritional assessment of a mammal.
According to a fourth aspect of the invention, the use of Complex III is disclosed for nutritional assessment of a mammal.
According to a fifth aspect of the invention, a kit for nutritional assessment of a mammal is provided, comprising one or more reagents for measuring the activity in the mammal of one or more complexes selected from the group consisting of Complex I, Complex II, and Complex III.
Further features of the invention will be described or will become apparent in the course of the following detailed description.